Thursday, 31 December 2009

At one minute to midnight tonight Lithuania will shut down its only nuclear power station.

Once the Ignalia nuclear plant is turned off, Lithuania will rely on Russia for most of its electricity supplies as the power station currently supplies 80% of Lithuania's power. Importing electricity from Russia and Europe will mean higher electricity bills for Lithuanians and provide it with no energy security.

And why is Lithuania shutting down a nuclear power station with 10-15 years of useful life left, increasing electricity bills for its people and making itself reliant on its volatile neighbour for electricity? Because decommissioning the plant was a condition of Lithuania's membership of the European Empire.

The design of the control rods played a crucial part in the chain reaction which subsequently led to the accident. In addition the plant (yup, even in Ignalia) lacks the sort of hard containment nuclear plants in the western world usually have.

By your logic no nuclear accident could have happened as one would very much expect that everything is always as its supposed to be.

Kai the Chernobyl "disaster" only happened because Soviet politicians were playing with the toy against the wishes of the engineers. Granted that design is not of the sort of belt, braces, 2nd set of braces, man with a red flag employed to hold up trowsers, giant kiddie walker attached to belt, crane overhead holding braces sort we enjoy but it is but it is very very safe compared to, say, having gas in your house.

The closure is nothing to do with safety it is simply Luddism.

And incidentaly the Chernobyl "disaster" killed 53 people making it safer than the MRSA "disaster" in Britain's hospitals each & every week that we hear so much about.